canberrabirds

Birds and Coffee

To: chatline <>
Subject: Birds and Coffee
From: John Harris <>
Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2016 04:04:09 +0000
We all mourn the destruction of rain forests and the consequent damage and loss of bird habitats. As a coffee tragic, I have recently been interested to learn that genuine 'shade-grown’ coffee, that is, coffee genuinely grown as a rainforest understory, is not only a superior coffee, but is providing a habitat for a number of otherwise endangered bird species.
This is, I understand, particularly so in Central and South America. I did however also learn that there is a bit of ‘jumping on the bandwagon, and that some African shade-grown coffees which had always been grown beneath managed shade trees, could not be shown to have improved the environment for birds. However research in places like Guatemala shows that coffee grown in natural rainforests or on small mixed holdings of rainforest with fruit trees etc is definitely providing a habitat for endangered migratory song birds. The Smithsonian Institute now certifies bird-friendly coffees. I have sourced some in Australia. There is quite a lot of discussion on the internet. The site where I started is http://www.coffeereview.com/coffee-reference/coffee-categories/cause-coffees/shade-grown-and-bird-friendly/



<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the Canberra Ornithologists Group mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the list contact David McDonald, list manager, phone (02) 6231 8904 or email . If you can not contact David McDonald e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU